Sierra Club Welcomes Administration’s Announcement to Strengthen Fuel
Efficiency and Pollution Standards for CarsStronger Standards are Creating Jobs Now, and Can Move Us Beyond Oil

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Environmental Protection Agency and the
Department of Transportation announced a supplemental notice of intent to
strengthen car fuel efficiency standards.

Statement of Sierra Club Green Transportation Director Ann
Mesnikoff

"We welcome the news that Administrator Lisa Jackson and Secretary Ray
LaHood have taken one more step toward
increasing fuel efficiency and reducing global warming pollution from new
vehicles made between 2017 and 2025.
With higher gas prices always on the horizon, making cars cleaner and
more efficient is a no-brainer and should be part of a comprehensive plan to
reduce global warming pollution and cut our dangerous addiction to oil.

Fuel-saving technologies are available to get to, or surpass, 60 miles per
gallon in 2025. Consumers will save far
more at the pump than the technologies cost, and there is absolutely no reason
to aim lower. Already, EPA and DOT have
heard strong support from the public for setting standards to at least 60 MPG
in 2025.

Americans want better, more fuel efficient cars. The next step is for California to move ahead with its next round of clean car standards
and for other states to adopt these standards to bring better vehicles and
reduce pollution for their residents.

Strong fuel efficiency standards will ensure that we put
American ingenuity and American workers back to work to make America a leader in developing clean cars and trucks and to help
break our dangerous dependence on oil. Already, we’re seeing new jobs created
and a new appetite for electric vehicle innovation as evidenced by recent
announcements from Chrysler and GM that each will put 1,000 engineers to work
in Detroit developing new electric vehicles.

These vehicle standards must also
be part of a national transportation plan to break our dependence on oil by
investing in smart transportation choices for Americans.”